Living A Lie
by Night Ryder711
Summary: Some people say Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third is insane. But Astrid Hofferson knows different. He just can't live in a world without Toothless.


**Authors Note: I really have nothing to say here, except I can't stand not having an authors note. Just note, that this is not a death!fic and it will probably only stop being confusing at the end. But don't let that put you off.**

 **Enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own How To Train Your Dragon.**

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 **Living a Lie**

A metal leg was caught on a small patch of ice and the man was thrown onto his back as he lost his footing. Months ago, this would've caused the Hairy Hooligans to drop what they were doing and they would rush to help the Pride of Berk.

On a busy market day such as this, it did nothing but raise sympathetic glances.

From where she stood alone at a stand, Astrid Hofferson watched the boy she considered a great friend. Her packages hang limply, her mothers list already forgotten in her other hand. Her axe hung from it's place on her back and Astrid found comfort in the familiar weight.

With a barely audible sigh, she turned from the young boy no older then sixteen and payed for her purchases. The man talked to her, and Astrid smiled a fake smile even as her mind wandered back to _him_ , to _Hiccup_.

She knew that he was muttering to himself as he picked himself up, assuring someone only he could see that he was _fine_ , it was just his metal leg.

But he wasn't fine. He had never been _fine_ after that poisoned arrow pierced throw midnight black scales and tore into the heart of a friend, a brother.

Astrid wasn't sure if he would ever be _fine_.

She supposed that it was better than what it had been when he was told. The screams, the cries, Astrid remembered it all. She had been there with him, telling him it was going to be ok even as her heart denied it. She had looked into his emerald eyes that had darkened with pain and hate and she had seen the coldness in them and the bloodshed that he wanted because that was Toothless; his _best friend_ , his _other half_ and he was _gone_.

That wasn't the Hiccup she knew. That wasn't her Hiccup.

And then one day he woke up, bright emerald eyes shining and Astrid had hoped that maybe, _maybe_ , everything was going to be alright.

But then he woke up and he talked to his best friend and he walked with the best friend no one else could see.

It wasn't fair, not to him and it hurt Astrid to see her best friend this way and not be able to help. She wasn't comforting and violence was no help to him.

She never realised until that arrow just how much that reptile meant to him. He couldn't live without him... So he didn't.

Sometimes, she would see him making his way through town as she flew on Stormfly. He would stumble often and his trek would be painfully slow as his left leg would be sore and he would be tired.

Never did he fly. If he was asked why, he would smile and say he was working on fixing the prosthetic tail fin to make it better, stronger, faster.

But Astrid knew better.

The Healer, Gothi, had explained that it was called psychological trauma. Hiccup couldn't cope with the emotions and stress of losing Toothless so he simply... Forgot.

He was living in a world where Toothless still existed. He was living in a world where he didn't have to deal with the lain of losing his first and best friend. He was living in a world that he didn't know didn't exist anymore.

He was living a lie.

Hiccup"s metal leg slipped again and Astrid watched with a heavy heart as Hiccup fell in slow motion towards the ground.

He was falling just as he had done after he and Toothless defeated the Red Death. He was falling, just as he had done countless of times before with a best friend at his side, ready to stop him from hitting the ground.

Only this time, there was no one there to catch him.

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 **Authors Note: Just a small oneshot I cooked up. Hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it XD. It's only around 640 words, so it's the smallest oneshot I've ever written.**

 **Reviews, favorites and follows are all greatly appreciated.**

 **~Lei' Raeyna**


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